Cat's Cradle
by Aki13th
Summary: Post-manga. After discovering that Greed is still alive, Selena sets out to get him out of Lin's body and into his own. Unfortunately, things are never quite that simple. After having to escape from Xing and deal with Amestrian political issues, things could get as tangled as a cat's cradle. GreedOC. Sequel to Curiosity Killed the Cat.
1. Chapter 1

**I'd like to thank my readers for all your support and patience. Without you, I probably wouldn't be writing this sequel. To any new readers, this is a sequel to my fanfiction Curiosity Killed the Cat, so I would recommend reading that first. I can't really force you to though, so if you'd just like to jump into the sequel, be my guest. (It's bound to be a bit more well-written than the early chapters in CKC, after all...)  
A special thanks to Makkaka for the fantastic suggestions, several of which I will be using in this fic-including the problem that will really kick-start the plot. You're amazing! Thank you!  
Due to the amount of demand, I'll be adding in a few canon pairings like Ed/Winry, Lin/Lanfan, and Al/May, and the non-canon pairing that you guys have been asking for since CKC-romantic Greed/Selena. :) I'm looking forward to writing the development between them as more than family.  
I have a schedule set for myself, so hopefully I'll be able to post a new chapter every week or two. I appreciate your continued support!**

**0**

I have several virtues, but patience is not one of them. That would be the reason that while anxiously awaiting a friend's arrival at the border of Xing, when a young man started hitting on me, it quickly escalated into a fight. At least I think he was hitting on me. He was speaking in Xingese, so I can't be certain exactly what it was he wanted. But when I tried to walk away he put a hand on my shoulder, and since I wasn't in the best of moods, I did the logical thing and punched him. It would be my luck that he had a couple buddies standing by who were just as hotheaded as I am.

My foot cracked against one guy's chin, sending him tumbling into the dusty street. Memories of a certain bar tickled the back of my brain as the other two hesitated and then charged me, and I quickly ducked and somersaulted between them. As they turned, bewildered by the sudden change in direction, I launched a kick at one of them and caught him in the solar plexus. I couldn't help but wince as he overturned a fruit stand.

"Oops," I muttered. "Sorry about that."

A crowd of curious onlookers had begun to gather. This didn't seem to bother the three men I was brawling with, but I didn't feel like being lectured by Lin for disrupting the peace. Rumors of a teenage chimera aren't hard to pinpoint. I could probably have just run away, but that would have felt like losing, so I reluctantly reached into my pocket for my gloves to finish them off quickly.

"Selena!"

I glanced to my left, startled, as a blonde-headed young man picked his way through the crowd, his boyish features covered in sweat and dust. My opponents frowned in confusion as Alphonse Elric jogged up to me, obviously tired but grinning from ear to ear.

"I thought I'd never get here." His breaths were coming fast and heavy. "The desert is really something."

"I warned you, didn't I?" I beamed back. He laughed, and I threw my arms around him in a big hug. "Welcome to Xing, Al."

The guy who had been hitting on me barked something in Xingese, tapping Al on the shoulder, and I rolled my eyes and prepared to beat him into next week. However, Al surprised me by responding in the same language. I blinked dumbly as the two exchanged words, seemed to come to terms, and then the man and his friends left with a grudging nod my way. Al let out a _whoosh _of air.

"Well," he said, turning to me with a smile, "shall we go?"

"Since when do you speak Xingese?" I demanded.

"It's just a little," Al shrugged. "I've been studying it since you left Amestris. It looks like you haven't changed at all since then."

I had to agree. I was the same violent, smart-mouthed Selena Halling no matter what country I was in. Alphonse hadn't changed much either though, real body or not. I could tell he was a lot healthier than he had been when I had last seen him—back then I could still see the shadow of his cheekbones—but the polite demeanor that had contrasted with his armor body was still with him.

"By the way," I began as I lead him back towards the palace, "why are you by yourself? Weren't Zanpano and Jelso coming with you?"

"There were a couple of Lin's servants waiting for us at the border patrol. Since Jelso was dehydrated, they took our luggage and went ahead for water while I came to get you," Al explained. I nodded sympathetically. Being a frog chimera, Jelso probably couldn't handle the journey across the desert as well as the rest of us did. "Is May still visiting her clan?"

"Yeah. She said she'd be back in a few days. That was a few days ago, though, so she'll be here any day now."

"I see. She must have missed her family."

"Yup. Oh yeah—I have some surprise news for you," I giggled, and Al furrowed his brows.

"What is it?"

"It's a secret until we get back to meet Lin."

Getting into the palace was a pain as usual. There were three levels of security to get past, and it took forever for them to allow Alphonse inside since they wanted to get verbal confirmation from Lin first and his servants were with Zanpano and Jelso. The guards had some issue with people who didn't wear traditional Xingese clothes—I could remember the first couple days when I arrived here. Finally, Lin's confirmation arrived in the form of Lanfan. After sending the guards a glare, I trotted after her and Al towards Lin's quarters.

Lanfan spoke up before Al could greet her as we made our way through the halls. "Master Lin may not be able to see you within the hour. He will be presenting the philosopher's stone to the emperor's advisers today."

"He hasn't shown them the stone yet?" Al asked. "I thought he had already been chosen as the successor."

"He has," I told him. "It's just that they have to go through this whole political process even though he already showed the stone to the emperor."

"It's a precaution to assure that the emperor isn't tricked. The advisers approve the emperor's decision in front of the heads of the clans," Lanfan added, staring straight ahead.

"Then the clans have some sort of say in the emperor's succession? " Al put in.

"Something like that," Lanfan replied shortly. "We're here."

I raised a brow, bemused by her unusually sharp tone. Lanfan was always a bit stiff, but right now she seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason. I eyed her thoughtfully as she knocked and then held the door open for us.

Lin looked up from the window he was peering through and broke into a grin. "It's been so long, Alphonse! Come, come, sit down!"

"Hi, Lin," Al smiled back as Lanfan closed the door behind us. "I hear you're presenting the stone today. Congratulations on your success."

"Oh, that's just formal business. I don't like it very much," Lin replied bluntly. "But thank you."

"I'm guessing that's traditional royal clothing. I've never seen you wear anything like that."

Lin nodded, glancing down at the colorful robes that cascaded over his figure. "Yes. I haven't become emperor quite yet, but I'm being treated like one. It's awfully stuffy. Selena knows what I mean."

"Yep," I agreed, plopping down onto one of the seat cushions on the floor. "He's always got servants following him around and officials telling him to act with more dignity. I got a little taste of that when I was introduced as 'the future emperor's companion.' They couldn't wait to get me changed into Xingese clothes," I added with a gesture at my loose-sleeved shirt and slip-on shoes.

Lin laughed. "I'm still surprised they let you wear men's clothing. It was quite the scandal."

"Well, I wasn't wearing that big long robe they wanted me in."

Shaking his head in amusement, Al interrupted, "Selena said you had some surprise news for me. What is it?"

I jumped up eagerly. "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!"

"Surprise news?" Lin queried. "Are you talking about…?"

A knock on the door interrupted us, and Lanfan opened it to a pair of servants in yellow robes, who said something to Lin in Xingese. I waited impatiently as he responded, nodding, and then turned to Al and I.

"I'm afraid I must be off," Lin apologized. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Lanfan, come with me."

"Yes, sir."

I groaned, disappointed. "Already? Oh well. See you, then."

"Bye, Lin," Al waved, and Lin trailed through the door with Lanfan in tow. As the door clacked shut, Al turned to me with a questioning look. "What was the news?"

Sighing, I replied, "I wanted Lin to be here when I told you, but I can't wait that long…"

"So what was it?"

Biting back a smile, I said simply, "Greed's alive."

Al's eyebrows shot upwards like rockets. "He's alive? How? Where is he?"

"He's still inside Lin," I giggled, bubbling with excitement. "Apparently he left behind one soul when Father absorbed him. I don't really understand it myself, but the greedy bastard's still okay and that's all that matters."

Alphonse let out a breathy laugh, dropping back against a wall and running a hand over his hair. "I can't believe it. Everyone still thinks he died. Why didn't you say something when I called you?"

"Lin didn't tell me until afterwards! I thought he was dead until—actually, until right after we hung up! I tried to call later, but you had already left to cross the desert."

"Bad timing at its finest, huh?" Al chuckled. "I still can't believe it. After everything that happened, there are still a few surprises left out there."

"You're telling me," I snorted. "When I found out, I just about hugged Lin to death. Lanfan had to detach me from him."

"I can't say I'm surprised. You were the closest to him, after all."

"Yeah," I sighed, sinking into a cushion again. "I'm just so glad he's okay. Now I just have to transmute him into his own body, and everything will be perfect."

Al went suddenly quiet. Glancing at him, I furrowed my brows. "What's wrong?"

Alphonse hesitated, moistening his lips before he spoke. "Selena, I, um…I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why not? I'm not bringing him back to life."

"I know, but…" Al cleared his throat and ran a hand over his face. "Listen, I know this is hard to hear, but you can't transmute Greed. The problem isn't creating his body—a human body is just physical components—but if you try to transmute his soul, the Portal of Truth will open and you'll have to pay the toll."

I stared blankly, struggling to come up with a counterargument. "But…But it's not human transmutation. Greed is a homunculus…"

"A homunculus is an artificial human, Selena," Al replied slowly. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you transmute a soul. It's too dangerous."

My eyes sank to the ground as I wavered between the pain of understanding and the numbness of denial. "Then…I can't…" I could feel Al's apologetic gaze on me, and I bit my lip. "I've got to go make a phone call."

Alphonse started to call my name as I crossed the room and pushed past the door, but I barely heard him, already dashing through the halls and down to the bottom floor of the palace. Brushing by the guards, I left the palace in a blur and made for the nearest phone booth. I had to redial the number twice because I kept pressing the wrong buttons in my haste, and my heart pounded as I listened to it ring.

"C'mon, pick up pick up pick up…" I muttered anxiously before I finally heard the phone being answered.

"Hello?"

"Shorty!" I blurted. "I have something I need to ask you."

"Selena? Something wrong? You sound a little breathless. Did Al get there okay?"

"Yeah, Al's fine, he just got here a while ago," I answered in a rush. "Look, you transmuted Al's soul into the armor, right?"

"Uh, yeah…" Ed sounded confused, as well as a little perturbed. He could tell something wasn't right.

"Well, I need your help. Greed's still alive inside of Lin, and he's only got one life left—"

"Wait, Greed survived? I thought he died when—"

"Yes, he's alive, and I need to transmute him into his own body. I know you can't do alchemy anymore, but please, I need your help. You know how to do it, don't you?"

There was a short period of silence during which my hopes quickly waned, and they died out altogether in Edward's first syllable.

"Selena…" A sigh made the line crackle. "Look, I really don't want to say this, but it's not safe. Transmuting his soul would open the Portal of Truth, and I don't know what the toll would be. It's not the same as reviving a dead person, but it is human transmutation. I'm sorry, Selena. I can't help you. I hope you understand."

I didn't say anything for a long time. I could still hear Edward breathing on the other end of the line, but he kept quiet too. Eventually, I swallowed and inhaled slowly.

"So I can't have him back?"

Edward sighed again. "Selena…"

"He's still alive, but because he's stuck in someone else's body, I can't have him back? I can't see him again the way I used to?"

"Listen, Selena—"

"Ed, Lin becomes emperor as soon as his father dies." My voice was strained. "When that happens, I won't be able to talk to Greed the same way ever again. I can't kick his ass or punch him or hug him because Lin will be the emperor and you just can't do those things to the emperor. He needs his own body, Ed. I don't care if I lose an arm or a leg or something. I don't want to have to make an appointment to see the only family I have left. I need Greed back."

It got quiet again, and for a moment I was pretty sure I had gotten through to him. Then, Edward said, "I'm sorry, Selena. I can't."

Silence.

"Selena?"

I swallowed. "Yeah. I understand, Ed. Sorry to bug you."

He started to say something more, but I hung up before I could hear what it was. For a moment I stood quietly, one hand on the receiver, and just stared at the dial pad. The thought of calling Ms. Izumi nudged at my mind, but I had enough common sense to know how that would turn out. Lifting my hand from the phone, I slowly curled my fingers into a fist.

When I walked out, the window of the phone booth had a crack in it and bruises were blossoming on my knuckles.

**0**

**A quick apology for the depressing ending to the first chapter, but overall I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! Next chappy will be up next week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I'm keeping up with my schedule of weekly chapters for you guys-quite an accomplishment for me. Unfortunately there's no Greed in this chapter, but he'll definitely be in the next one so please be patient. The main catalyst for the plot shows up in this chapter though, compliments of my reader Makkaka. (I'm pretty sure that's how it's spelled? I might have added an extra K...) Thanks again for all the support! Enjoy!**

**0**

The dining room was awfully quiet. Jelso had recovered from his dehydration, although he was still hanging onto a water bottle to suck on every now and then, so he and Zanpano had joined Al and me at the dining table. The two chimeras occasionally exchanged awkward looks; Al sat one seat down from me looking especially uncomfortable. Ignoring all three of them, I scribbled away at a piece of paper. The icy atmosphere around me was almost tangible.

Alphonse cleared his throat for possibly the third or fourth time in an hour—the previous times he had lapsed into silence without saying anything, but now he managed a couple of faltering syllables. "Um…Well."

I didn't look up at him. Jelso and Zanpano looked at each other again. Swallowing, Al tried again.

"So, uh…" Although he was looking at the table, it was clear whose silence he was trying to break. I decided to reward him with a baleful sigh and a long, flat stare. Moistening his lips, Al finally collected his words. "Look, Selena—"

"You don't need to apologize again, Al," I interrupted, rolling my eyes before returning to the diagram I was working on. "You're just doing what you think is best."

Another brief eye contact between Jelso and Zanpano. They knew as well Al did that my words hardly signified forgiveness.

"Sorry," Al mumbled. "I know you're disappointed."

I grunted. "You say it like I've given up."

A crinkle appeared briefly between Al's eyebrows, and then he glanced at the diagram I was drawing. It looked like a crappy version of the Vitruvian Man with notes and estimations scattered around it. Al frowned. "Selena, you know brother and I can't help you."

"I don't need help."

"I won't let you perform the transmutation. You could get killed."

I shrugged. "Bite me."

Rare as it was, I think Al was starting to get a little angry—at least, that's what his tone implied. "Look, sometimes things don't turn out the way we want them to, but you've got to move on. It's no use chasing after something if you won't be around to enjoy it."

"Like you can talk," I scoffed, slapping my pencil down flat on the table. "How many times have you and shorty tried to sacrifice yourselves for other people?"

"This isn't about saving Greed! You know it isn't! He's alive and well but you just can't picture yourself without him." Alphonse ran a hand over his face. "You've forgotten all those times you spent with us, with everyone else. You have a life outside of Greed, Selena. You just want things to be the way they used to."

I glared at my diagram. "You've forgotten something too, Al. You forgot what it was like when you found out you could never see your mom again."

It was a tense moment before Alphonse replied, startled by the accusation. "This isn't like that."

"Isn't it?"

"Stop being childish, Selena."

"_I'm_ being childish?" I snapped, getting to my feet. "You're sticking to a principle that applies to dead people because you don't want me to go through what you did. But our situations are different, Al. I want this. I'm prepared for sacrifice, and I'm not a little kid like you were."

"You can't just—"

Before Al could finish, the door swung open and Lin burst in, stretching his arms over his head and yawning loudly.

"That was so _boring_!" he complained. "It lasted much longer than I expected. So many skeptics. I'm just glad I don't have to be there while the advisors discuss with the emperor." Rubbing at a cramp in his neck, he flopped into a chair at the table. The four of us blinked at him, thrown by the sudden change in atmosphere.

"Uh, welcome back," Al greeted him. "How did it go?"

"Oh, not bad. Nothing out of the ordinary—just old men bickering with each other." Lin glanced at me. "Selena? Aren't you going to sit down?"

I realized I was still standing up from my argument with Al. Grudgingly settling back into my seat, I asked, "So have they agreed that you're the next emperor?"

"Basically. There are still some things they need to settle, but it's unlikely that that will change. As of now, the philosopher's stone is being transferred somewhere safe."

"Won't they try to use it to make the emperor immortal?" Jelso asked. Lin shrugged unworriedly.

"They don't know how. Besides, even if they knew to put it in his bloodstream, it would probably kill him first."

I snorted. "That would certainly make things lively."

"Lively indeed. But then I would gain the throne."

"You're rather cutthroat, Lin," Al observed.

Lin smiled innocently. "I prefer the term ambitious."

"More like greedy," I muttered, shooting a sideways glare at Al. He responded with a stern glance, and Jelso and Zanpano exchanged looks again. Lin raised a brow.

"Did something happen?"

"No," Al and I replied simultaneously. Jelso groaned, but when Lin sent him a questioning look, he hid behind his water bottle.

Lin was probably about to ask what was going on when the door burst open and Lanfan rushed inside, mask in hand and anxiety on her face. Frowning, Lin rose and asked, "What is it?" but she didn't have time to answer before several more guards crowded in after her, shouting in Xingese. One of them approached Lin.

"What's going on?" I questioned as Lin exchanged words with the guard. Al shook his head.

"I can't tell, they're talking too fast…"

"It's the philosopher's stone." We all turned to Lanfan, who was looking increasingly worried. "It's been stolen."

"By who?" I demanded, but she shook her head.

"We don't know, but the prime suspect…" Handcuffs were pulled out of a pack. "…is Prince Lin."

I gaped as the guard secured the handcuffs around Lin's wrists, my mind in a whirl. "But—how the hell—?"

"He went off without any servants, so there are no witnesses to his whereabouts between the throne room and here." Lanfan gritted her teeth. "The emperor wants him imprisoned until it is found."

"But why would Lin steal the philosopher's stone?" Al insisted. "If he wanted it to himself, he wouldn't have brought it here in the first place!"

"To gain the throne and then prevent the emperor from attaining immortality. The emperor won't listen to any other reasoning."

"This is insane," I growled, making to grab Lin's sleeve, but Lanfan stopped me, even though her eyes made it clear that she was itching to do the same thing. As the guards began to lead Lin from the room, I called sharply, "Lin! Do something!"

Turning to look over his shoulder, Lin flashed an apologetic smile. "Don't worry, my friends. I'll be fine. Wait up for me, won't you?" The door closed firmly behind the last retreating guard, leaving an uneasy silence in its wake as we stared blankly across the room.

I don't think May Chang expected such a lackluster welcome when she tackled Alphonse from behind a few hours after Lin's arrest. There was about a hair's breadth between the sun and the horizon, casting fire-tinged light through the windows to match the moody embers crackling in the atmosphere as we explained the situation to her.

The little panda's tiny, furry face matched the expression in May's knitted brows. "So Prince Lin is going to be imprisoned until the stone is found? But why would he steal it? Is there any proof?"

"We tried to argue the same thing," Al told her. "But they wouldn't listen because the emperor—"

"—Is a dickface," I finished for him, ignoring Lanfan and May's scandalized looks. My nails drummed the table restlessly. "Damn it, I can't believe this happened. I need to go kick someone's ass. Preferably the thief's. Of course, stupid Lin didn't do anything about it, so I wouldn't mind beating some sense into him either…"

"Calm down, Selena. Getting worked up isn't going to solve anything," Lanfan urged.

"Sitting around talking about it isn't going to get anything done either!" I argued hotly. "Lin is in prison because some asshole stole the philosopher's stone, and we'll all sitting on our asses!" I would probably have gone on if I hadn't caught an odd look from Alphonse. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

That just made me irritated. "If you've got something to say, say it, Alphonse."

Exhaling slowly, Al rubbed at his neck, the expression on his face saying that he knew he would regret his next words. "I was just thinking that you're overreacting a little, and was wondering…" He started to trail off, but I urged him with a look to keep going. "Is it really Lin you're worried about?"

I didn't get it at first, but when it hit me, it hit hard and fast. I jumped out of my chair, livid. "Alphonse Elric, that was the lowest I've ever seen you sink."

"It was a legitimate question," he started to defend himself, but I slammed a hand against the table.

"Legitimate, my ass! If you wanna go, say it! This passive-aggressive shit pisses me off!"

"Okay you two, that's enough," Zanpano stepped in. "This isn't the time to be fighting with each other." I heard Lanfan mutter, "Since when do those two fight?" as I sank reluctantly back into my chair, exchanging disgruntled looks with Alphonse over May's head. Meanwhile, May peered around at us with a pair of large, questioning eyes.

"Why don't we just break him out?"

The rest of us turned to the little girl with a panda in her arms, hovering between surprise and interest, as she continued off our looks, "It wouldn't be that hard. Mr. Scar broke Dr. Marcoh out of the homunculus hideout and got away. We would just have to escape into Amestris while everything settles down."

We glanced at each other, surprised partly because the idea came from such a little girl and partly because it was actually a pretty good idea. Of course, this is Xing idiot number four we're talking about, so it probably shouldn't have been that much of a shock.

"That would make it seem like Prince Lin is guilty," Lanfan responded, but the argument sounded feeble and half-hearted.

May shrugged. "Only until they find the real thief."

Again, we all glanced at each other, but our eyes weren't sharing debate so much as making mischief. Alphonse stood up and said he needed to make a phone call, and Lanfan excused herself in order to retrieve some things from her quarters. The sun dipped a toe into the horizon, casting an ominous glow over the capital of Xing. In May's arms, the tiny panda grinned.

**0**

**The plot thickens... Well, thank you for reading this (somewhat short) chapter! See you next week!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Thank you for all your support so far. The action is finally starting to kick in this chapter, although I had a little trouble meeting the usual chapter length. Less dialogue and more description packs more into the pages, so it takes a little longer to write-lucky for you guys, that also means there is more content in the same amount of pages. :) Enjoy!**

** 0**

The muffled sounds of a scuffle floated through the night air only briefly before being cut off with a grunt and the thud of a body hitting the ground. A dark figure crept to the entrance of the prison door, glanced around, and then made a waving motion. Three more hurried up to the first with a little less stealth.

"How come I don't get to knock out any guards?" I hissed at Lanfan as she pulled a knife out of seemingly nowhere. She just shushed me and jammed the blade into the door handle, turning it with a satisfying click—well, maybe more of a crunch. Either way, she swung the door open and all but dove through the opening, barely checking to make sure that Al, May, and I were following before she sprinted down one of several hallways and over a small flight of stairs. May easily caught up with her but was quick to slow her pace when she noticed that Al was lagging. He wasn't in as bad shape as he had been, but he still wasn't at the same level as the rest of us. Leaving him to May, I struggled to match Lanfan's speed.

"Where do you think they're keeping Lin?" I asked her, glancing around at the lines of cells and the black-clad prisoners watching curiously as we raced by.

"He'll be in the very rear of the dungeon," she replied. "That's where upper-class prisoners are kept. It will be a fight to get out if we don't hurry."

"Let's just hope Zanpano and Jelso have the escape car ready when we get back," I muttered. She started to nod, but the sound of shouts coming from up ahead caught her attention first, and I glanced back to make an "on guard" motion at the two behind us. As we slowed in preparation for a fight, a single guard ran around the corner in our direction.

"Dibs!" I barked, but Lanfan knocked him out with a flying kick first. I swore. "I called dibs!"

"What's a 'dib'?" she inquired as another guard appeared around the same corner, calling out in Xingese. Lanfan nabbed him too, but I noticed she was looking a bit confused. I was about to ask what was wrong when I noticed that the sounds coming from up ahead weren't the sounds of a stampede—it was the ruckus of the madness and mayhem that _we _had come to cause.

I raised a brow as Al and May caught up to us. "What the hell…?"

I felt my hair flap in the wind as a black streak sped around the corner and past us, followed by a larger group of prison guards who obviously hadn't expected to see us. Lanfan clothes-lined three of them, but I was not quite as prepared and got rammed by a man twice my size. Stumbling, I did several double-takes, trying to grasp what had just happened as the black streak paused and then turned back around.

"Oh good, you're here!" Lin sounded a lot less shocked than we were. "I was just about to come get you."

"What the fu—" I was cut off by a guard swinging a sword at my head and had to pause to kick the bastard in the stomach. "Lin, what the hell are you doing?"

"I just broke out of prison," he explained lightly, trotting back to help us. "Although I suppose I'm not out quite yet. The door _is_ that way, right?"

"I'm starting to remember why I call you Xing idiot number one," I muttered. The guards that we initially ran into went down fairly quickly, but reinforcements were trickling in so Al transmuted a wall to seal them off while Lanfan pried me off my last victim to follow Lin back the way we had come from. I hoped he knew where he was going—my sense of direction is normally pretty good, but all the cells looked the same, as did the prisoners' plain clothing. It wasn't until we went down a flight of stairs that I knew something was wrong.

"Wait, Lin," I panted, "We went down a flight of stairs to get inside. We should be going _up_!"

"Trust me," was all he said.

I would have probably argued with him if it hadn't been for a shout behind us. Glancing over my shoulder, I swore. There had been a lot of guards before, but now there were twice as many, some of which were dressed in garb similar to Lanfan's and had similar skill sets, if their speed was any indication. As they quickly gained, I realized that May and Al weren't quite matching our pace. I grumbled something derogatory before slowing down until I was next to May, careful to stay clear of the knives she was tossing back at our pursuers.

"Could you guys go any slower?" I jibed. Al gasped something that sounded like an apology, too winded to be articulate, and I heaved an exaggerated sigh and grabbed his arm, pulling him forward a bit faster. "You're really out of shape, Al." He was breathing too hard to respond.

"There!" Lin's voice made me look up ahead at an ancient-looking door, and I noticed for the first time that the ground was tilting uphill. God damn, I breathed inwardly. It was an alternate exit. Of course he couldn't have said so earlier. If he had, I wouldn't have been so relieved by the realization that I forgot to watch my step. If he had then a guard's throwing knife, after lodging itself conveniently in the ground just ahead of us, wouldn't have caught my foot. If he had, then I wouldn't have made a spectacular tumble to the ground, dragging Alphonse with me, and the guards wouldn't have had the chance to grab a wheezing Al by the arms before he could clap his hands and transmute. Yep. It was definitely all Lin's fault.

Clutching at my bruised chin, I kicked wildly at a guard dressed in black before I remembered that I was wearing my gloves. I slapped a hand against the ground and launched several pillars out of the dirt and into the guards, taking great satisfaction in the solid _thuds_ and cries of pain. As more of May's knives whizzed by, I heard Lin calling back at us to hurry up, adrenaline coursing through my limbs while I yanked Al back to his feet and gave him a shove in the right direction. When a fallen enemy grabbed my ankle, I didn't wipe out quite as badly as before, so I drew back a hand to slam against the ground. A sharp sting swiped my palm in the instant before it struck. There was no transmutation, and when I looked at my palm, I discovered why—the bastard had thrown a knife, which nicked the circle hemmed into my glove.

"Son of a bitch!" I screeched, aiming a kick at his head. He caught my foot but didn't count on my other glove sending a stone block into his chin.

The real problem didn't occur until after I got up. I had forgotten that some guys don't stay down after just one hit—something I should probably be used to after all the time I've spent living with a homunculus—and those ninja bastards in black are awfully persistent. It wasn't the same guy who'd grabbed my ankle (thank God), but in the moment before I started running I found myself on the ground again with my good glove-hand twisted behind my back. Cue swear word of your choice.

I couldn't really see what was going on with the side of my face pressed to the ground, but I could hear Al breathlessly shouting my name and Lin saying something in Xingese. I was growling at the guard to get the hell off—not that it helped me at all—when Lin suddenly let out a sharp yell, like he had been hit by something.

"Lin?!" I called, trying to see up ahead. "Hey, Lin, what's going on?" His response was a pained grunt. I swore inwardly. If he'd been attacked by a guard, that meant they were coming from the exit too, and we were screwed.

I heard a long groan from Lin, and then footsteps. The guard on top of me shouted something in Xingese, sounding progressively more panicky as the footsteps grew closer; amid those sounds, I heard Al say, "Uh-oh." Bewildered, I tried to look up again as the footsteps came within a few feet of me.

_WHACK._

The guard tumbled off. When he hit the ground right next to me, he was out cold and had a broken nose. Stunned, I slowly pushed myself up and trailed my gaze up a pair of legs, past an armored arm, to Lin's frowning face. It took me a second to realize his eyes were violet.

"C'mon. Let's go," he said, grabbing me by the arm.

I let out a breathy laugh. "Right."

Greed pulled me to my feet and started back towards the exit, and I heard him mutter something like, "You had to get yourself caught, didn't you?"

"Hey, I heard that, asshole! You think that was _my_ fault?" I snapped back.

Greed snorted. "I don't think you have anybody to use as a scapegoat, Selena."

"What about Al? I had to help Al!"

He rolled his eyes and pulled me after the others, who had started towards the exit again. "The poor kid can barely breathe and you're blaming him? You're something, I'll give you that."

There were shouts in the distance when we stepped out into the cool night air, and the city was speckled with lights. I noticed that Lanfan paused to shoot Greed a dirty look before heading off towards where we planned to meet Zanpano and Jelso—I had forgotten that she hadn't gotten along with him ever since he took over Lin's body. That was to be expected, I guess.

Just outside the marketplace, a rickety-looking car sat discreetly in the shadows. Zanpano waved us over from the driver's seat and started the engine as we piled in. I grunted irritably, sandwiched between Greed and Lanfan while Al squeezed against the door with a blushing May in his lap.

"Couldn't you have gotten something bigger?" I grumbled.

"Suck it up," Jelso responded. "Do you know how hard it is to find a car in this town?"

"Just be grateful it has a trunk," Zanpano added. I grudgingly had to admit that this was bad enough without the luggage with us in the back seat. "You packed everything, right? We just took whatever was in the suitcases."

"Lin wants his sword, but it's too late to go back." Greed shrugged as best he could in the cramped space.

"Yeah, it doesn't really matter now." Jelso did a double-take. "Wait, aren't you…?"

"Oh yeah. The name's Greed. Nice to meet you."

"Weren't you dead?"

"Nope." Greed grunted, shifting to get his arm out from between us and settling it on the headrest of my seat. I frowned—this was a move suspiciously similar to something he would do back in the Devil's Nest when he couldn't get away with ruffling my hair. His arm would go from his side to the back of the couch to the top of my head, and then back to his side after I swatted at him. My ears started to flatten as I sent him a wary sideways stare. Greed glanced my way and raised his brows. "What's the matter with you two?"

I blinked. Two? As I glanced next to me, Lanfan quickly looked away, a sour expression still etched into her features. Oh, right. She was sharing my headrest too. My eyes shifted from her on their way to the front windshield, but then I noticed Al sending me a meaningful look. Frowning, I stuck out my tongue at him and then turned away. I saw Zanpano roll his eyes in the rearview mirror.

The trip to the border was pretty short despite the tension, and we hurried to move our baggage from the trunk to the camels we had arranged for. After paying off the man who had brought the camels, we mounted and galloped off into the desert at a rapid pace, occasionally looking back at the lights of the city to see if we were being followed. We only slowed once we were far enough out that all signs of civilization were obscured by miles of sand. I heard Greed sigh.

"Well," he said, "glad that's over."

The rest of us nodded in agreement, with the possible exception of May, who was too distracted by the fact that she was sharing Al's camel. I slumped in my saddle, sighing, and then noticed that Alphonse was eyeing Greed's back. Too tired to start another fight, I decided to follow his example. After a couple hours of riding, during which May had dozed off against Al and I almost fell off my camel, we dismounted and made camp. Lanfan was quick to volunteer to keep watch.

"Hold on, little lady." I looked up from unrolling a sleeping bag at Greed, who had a hand on Lanfan's shoulder. Crap. This couldn't turn out well. "You need the sleep. I can keep an eye out for us."

Lanfan shrugged his hand off. "I don't need your concern, homunculus." Well, no surprise there.

"Greed, just let her do what she wants," I called, hoping to keep him from pissing her off enough to start an argument. He glanced at me doubtfully.

"You sure? I don't mind taking over."

"Yes, we can all see that," I heard Lanfan mutter. Greed raised a brow, but his mouth twitched in amusement.

"No need to be feisty. I'm just trying to help—nngh." He suddenly winced, raising a hand towards his face.

I frowned. "What is it?"

"The kid wants his body back."

Lanfan's gaze darted back to him with sudden interest at that, but my face fell without my permission.

"Oh. Okay." I winced inwardly—I sounded a lot more disappointed than I had meant to. "See you 'round, then."

As I went back to unrolling my sleeping bag, I heard him shuffling through the sand towards me but opted to ignore it; I had come off as needy enough without prolonging the goodbye. Then a hand dropped to my head and ruffled my hair.

"Don't worry, kiddo. I'll be back."

Out of habit and embarrassment, I brushed him off, but a smile was tugging at my mouth as he walked away.

**0**

**Sorry if Greed's part seemed a bit forced-I wanted to involve him as soon as possible and it's a little difficult to do that when he and Lin share a body. My strongest idea was for Greed to get protective... Anyway, I hope you liked it. Thank you for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**First: My deepest apologies for the late chapter. I meant to have it posted on Sunday at the latest, but I was working on an original story, and then I was really tired and wound up watching the Academy Awards instead of finishing this. ^^; Then I couldn't find a good place to wrap up, so the ending is kind of a weak cliffhanger...But enough of my complaining. Enjoy this installment of Cat's Cradle!**

I can't say that I had been looking forward to the five-day journey across the desert, but I think my complaining probably made the trip more miserable for everyone else than it was for me. Near the end of the first day I even got a reaction out of Lanfan, who snapped out that I needed to conserve my energy. My response was that I had no energy left from the infernal heat. Judging by the look she gave me, I think she wanted to tackle me off of my camel, but Lin warned us both to calm down so she settled for steaming silently while I slumped in my saddle and grumbled under my breath.

Day two went without incident. Day three was the same. The morning of day four, I succumbed to my boredom and ambushed Zanpano in his sleep. That didn't turn out so well for me since everyone else mistook the ruckus for an attack by the emperor's warriors, and I was almost killed by Xing idiots one and two. I spent the rest of the day debating whether or not it had been worth it. Come morning of day five, I decided that it had, and I snuck into Lin's tent to get him back for the bruises he'd given me. That was a mistake.

"Holy crap, are you trying to murder me?" I gasped, struggling to get my breath back. Lin stared blankly for a moment as though registering who it was he had pinned down by the throat, and then let out a _whoosh_ of air, shoulders slumping as he loosened his grip.

"That's my line," he muttered, his voice slightly husky from sleep. "I thought you learned your lesson yesterday."

"Not exactly. Get off me, I can't breathe."

Running a hand over his face, Lin lifted his knee off of my chest so I could sit up. "Just quit doing that, yeah? I'm exhausted."

I paused in rubbing my neck, furrowing my brows. Lin didn't talk like that. "…Greed?"

"What?"

I rolled my eyes. "Geez, you guys need to let us normal people know who's driving. I thought I was talking to Lin."

Greed grunted and started to straighten out his sleeping bag. "Happens a lot."

Eyeing him curiously, I noted, "You seem pretty tired."

"Uh-huh."

"I've never seen you like this before."

"Well, homunculi don't need to sleep. Lin does. And since I'm stuck in his body, I do too," he explained briefly.

I bit back a grin. "Doesn't sound like you like it very much."

"The sleep I like. It's the getting up at the crack of dawn that I can't stand," Greed snorted. "And it doesn't help that I was just ambushed when I could have been resting."

"Then tell Lin not to give me bruises when I'm ambushing other people," I drawled, crawling for the tent opening. "Then I won't have to get him back for it."

"Hang on," he spoke up, grabbing my foot. I groaned.

"Greed, I wanna go back to bed. Waking myself up to attack people isn't as easy as I make it seem, okay?" I told him, trying to shake him off.

Instead of letting go, he gave me a little yank and made me fall on my stomach with a grunt. "I'm not done talking to you."

My ears flattened against my head irritably. "You're sure this can't wait until morning?" I growled irritably.

"It is morning."

"Not in my book."

Greed let out a breathy laugh and let go of my foot, moving to crouch next to me as I sat up. The sliver of moonlight seeping through the flap of the tent opening caught on one of his eyes, casting the other side of his face into shadow. I had to remind myself that it was Lin's face I was looking at. Cracking his neck, Greed looked at me with a small grin. "So, uh…how long do you think it'll take to get me into my own body?"

I smiled conspiratorially. "I just need to figure out the soul transmutation part. I know what the circle looks like—I just need the details of the process."

"Then you won't have any problems with getting materials?"

"Nah, that's the easy part," I assured him, waving a hand dismissively. "Making a human body is a cinch. It's just water, carbon, ammonia, lime…"

"Got it, got it. Need any help?"

"Nope, I'm good. If I do, I'll let you know."

Greed grunted approvingly. For some reason he looked like he was trying to keep his smile from getting any bigger, and his eyes hadn't left my face throughout the conversation. I shifted awkwardly. "What are _you_ grinning at?"

He laughed, dropping his gaze. "It's just—I haven't seen your eyes like that for a long time. The pupils are really big since it's dark," he added off my questioning look. "Martel called it the 'kitten eyes.'"

I blinked, fidgeting self-consciously. "I didn't know you guys noticed that."

"The way your eyes dilate is pretty crazy. It's not that hard to notice," he laughed. "'Specially since they're usually slits."

I shrugged. "Most people just think it's weird."

"I have a biological shield. You think that's not weird?" Greed reasoned. One of his hands started to go for the top of my head, but I ducked towards the tent flap and opened it.

"Well, us weirdos need our sleep," I told him, flashing a grin over my shoulder. "Otherwise Lin will be mad at both of us."

"Aw, he'll get over it," Greed shrugged. "Oh yeah—did something happen between you and Al? You guys don't seem like you've been getting along."

"Good night, Greed." I ducked out of the tent before he could press further.

If Lin was more tired than usual at daybreak, he didn't show it. He didn't notice me peering at his eyes with a little too much interest either—I had to make sure I didn't get him mixed up with Greed again—but the thought that he might not have realized I visited him quickly dispersed when he asked the others why they hadn't come to check out the ruckus in his tent. Everyone had a pretty similar response, but Lanfan's took the cake: "I assumed you could handle a street cat." She ignored the glare I directed her way.

I had to be reminded to flip up my hood to cover my ears when civilization came into sight. I was already used to keeping them uncovered in Xing, where people had been friendly regardless. Well, they _had_ been friendly before the incident with the philosopher's stone, I thought with a frown, squinting up at the sky. Now they probably wanted to kill us all. Stupid foreigners.

Xerxes was the same as when I first saw it on my way to Xing—dry, dusty, and barely inhabited. The few people around were clustered near the fountain, and the owner of one familiar head of blonde hair was dangling a mechanical leg in the water. He raised a hand to wave at us as we dismounted and collected our luggage, but before we could wave back, he started motioning frantically at something behind us. Reflexively, I ducked out of the way as something extremely bulky barreled past. Alphonse wasn't so lucky.

"Alphonse Elric, it's a relief to see you well!" Major Armstrong was a loud as ever, and maybe a bit stronger judging by the color Al's face was turning. (Or maybe that was just because human bodies don't withstand as much force as suits of armor.) "I'm so glad I chose to accompany your brother here to meet you!"

Inching behind Lin as Al wheezed something unintelligible, I called warily, "Uh…Nice to see you too, Major Armstrong."

"And Selena! It's been so long!" Al hadn't even hit the floor before the major turned the brunt of his affection on me, catching Lin in the middle. I noticed that Jelso and Zanpano wisely chose to keep their distance while Lanfan pried him off of us.

"I tried to warn you guys." Ed's voice and his mismatched footsteps floated our way, and I looked up to see him and an Ishbalan man and Amestrian woman I'd never met before heading towards us. As the Elric brothers exchanged a big hug, I wasn't sure if I should give Ed the same treatment as Alphonse, but then Ed sent me a grin that clearly told me that he wouldn't understand why I was giving him the cold shoulder. That would take all the fun out of it so I gave him a playful punch in the right arm instead.

After being introduced to the woman with a mole under her eye as Second Lieutenant Maria Ross and the Ishbalan man in a military uniform as Major Miles from Fort Briggs, the seven of us who had just arrived rehydrated ourselves and then joined the others in the shade while Zanpano and Major Armstrong arranged for the trip into Amestris.

"So what exactly happened out there?" Ed asked once we were settled. "Al just told me that you guys were breaking _this_ idiot out of jail." He jabbed a thumb at Lin. "Did he do something stupid again?"

"Rather disrespectful to speak that way to the future emperor of Xing, don't you think?" Lin piped up.

"At this rate you might not become emperor at all," I told him flatly. Lin deflated a little.

"Wait, _what_?" Ed gaped. "Al, you never said that! What the hell did he do?"

"He didn't do anything. He was framed," Al clarified. "The philosopher's stone he brought back was stolen, and he doesn't have an alibi."

Ed raised a brow and turned to Lin. "So, what, you're gonna hide out until it's found?"

"Yup!"

"That could be more trouble than it's worth." We all turned to Major Miles, who was stroking his chin pensively. "Bringing a Xingese fugitive to Amestris could create political complications between the two countries, and Amestris isn't in the best shape right now."

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," a new voice spoke up, "that Amestris is falling apart at the seams."

Ed grimaced and Al fidgeted nervously. May, on the other hand, leaped up, beaming.

"Mr. Scar!" she squealed. The former criminal sent her the faint semblance of a smile before taking a seat on a bench next to Miles. Scar's appearance had changed rather dramatically since I'd last seen him. For one, he wasn't gushing blood, and now he sported a thin beard, traditional Ishbalan grab, and hair long enough to be kept in a ponytail. His eyes looked tired and weren't nearly as intense as they used to be. I eyed him shyly, not quite sure if he counted me as a friend.

"He's helping me implement the new Ishbalan policy," Major Miles told us. "We're gathering Ishbalans to help revive the old culture and bring them back to Ishbal. It's a tough job, but things could be worse."

"But what do you mean Amestris is falling apart?" I asked.

"Colonel Mustang is trying to reform the government, but it's not working out so well," Ed explained.

"_General_ Mustang," Lieutenant Ross corrected him.

Ed snorted. "I'm not part of the military anymore. I'll call him whatever the hell I want. Anyway, with the government all out of wack, people are rioting in some areas, and there have been a couple of attacks from Aerugo and Drachma."

"And if you stay here," Miles added, motioning at Xing idiots one and two, "Xing is probably next."

A heavy silence settled over us. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Well," I put in weakly, "at least we're not fighting homunculi."

"Thank God for that," Lieutenant Ross sighed. "I'm just glad they're all gone." That sinking feeling called guilt started to settle in my stomach, and I saw Lin fidgeting.

"Actually, that's not quite true," Miles suddenly put in. My head jerked up in a panic. "There's one homunculus that's still alive. But if he causes problems, the military won't hesitate to put him down."

I exchanged glances with Lin.

_Shit._

**Sorry again that it was late. Hope you liked this! Comments and criticism is much appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Guess who's still alive out here?**

**I would go through the profuse apology about the extremely belated update and how finals combined with a horrible case of writer's block kept me from doing it earlier, but I'm sure you just want to get on with the story.**

**Enjoy!**

**0**

"Selim Bradley."

I blinked at Major Miles, confused. "What?"

"Selim Bradley," he repeated. "Also known as Pride. He's the remaining homunculus."

My face must have given away the fact that I was completely lost, because Ed jumped in, "I saved Selim and brought him back to Mrs. Bradley after the last battle with Father. He doesn't have any memories of being a homunculus, though."

"Oh," I responded lamely. I glanced at Lin, who shrugged and made a "just go with it" face. Biting my lip, I looked down at my hands, partly relieved and partly consternated. So the vast majority still thought that Greed was dead. That was probably a good thing. On the other hand, Pride was probably the last homunculus I wanted to see up and around, whether or not he remembered me. Lust was a hag, Envy was an ass, and Wrath—okay, maybe Selim was second to his father—but Pride had literally taken a chunk out of me the first time we met. If Hohenheim hadn't been there, I would have died with half my ribcage effectively removed from my body. That wasn't exactly my fondest memory.

"Well, homunculus or not," Maria Ross broke me out of my thoughts, "you guys will have to keep everything on the down low until this philosopher's stone business has settled. We've arranged a place for you to stay in the meantime."

"Then Mr. Military already has this figured out?" I guessed.

Lieutenant Ross' brows furrowed. "Mr. Military…?"

"Mustang," Ed told her. "She's got a thing for nicknames. You'll get used to it."

"Oh. Yes, General Mustang has arranged everything for you."

"Like the control freak he is," Ed added under his breath, earning sideways looks from the two soldiers in the group. Major Miles cleared his throat.

"Well, I suppose you've rested enough," he said. "You'd better get going before the day gets any hotter."

I groaned. "Great, more riding. My ass is going to kill me by the time we get into Amestris."

"Quit whining. You don't have a leg made out of metal to deal with," Ed shot back.

"At least you're not part amphibian," Jelso grunted at him.

"Ooh. Okay, you win."

The trip into Amestrian borders wasn't nearly as long or taxing as the journey through the Great Desert, but I wasn't any less relieved to be done with it. I slept soundly through the train ride to Central. Oddly enough, even though Mr. Military was the one to arrange for our arrival, he wasn't there to greet us and apparently didn't plan to, since we were told to stay with Ed and Lieutenant Ross when Major Armstrong left for military headquarters. I resolved the punch him when I next saw him, whether or not Lieutenant Hawkeye shot me for it.

"Selena, you're making a scary face. What are you plotting this time?"

I looked away from the scenery outside the car window to glance at Lin, who was in the opposite window seat. Lanfan sat stone-faced between us, apparently not caring what I was doing as long as I wasn't attacking her charge. Smiling innocently, I replied, "Nothing in particular."

Ed glanced at me from the front seat. "Just don't do anything while I'm driving. It would be appallingly ironic if one of your little pranks got us all killed."

Rolling my eyes, I asked, "Aren't all the military hotels on that side of town?" I gestured out the back window.

"We're not going to a hotel."

Al quirked a brow at his brother. "Then where are we staying?"

"Well, since the military can't provide protection for foreign criminals," Ed began, sending a pointed look at Lin in the rearview mirror, "it's probably safest at Havoc's general store."

I grinned. "So even though the government is helping us, they have plausible deniability. I love loopholes."

"I'm sure you do."

"Don't start this now, shorty. I don't want to die in a car crash any more than you do."

"Guys, I just realized something." We all looked at Alphonse. "None of us really have alibis for the theft. What if the person who stole the stone is one of us?"

For a moment, it went deadly quiet except for the rumble of the engine.

"Thank you for killing the mood, Al," I muttered. He shot me a look.

"I wasn't trying to kill the mood. It was a legitimate observation."

"You're right, killing the mood is too easy. You utterly mangled it."

"Well excuse me for bringing up something important!"

The others eyed us uncomfortably as we exchanged glares. Ed cleared his throat. "Have you guys been arguing since you got here?"

"No, they were like this in Xing as well," Lin put in. "It's quite the spectacle."

I grunted irritably, leaning against the window. "Just forget it."

Ed raised his brows. "Wow. Must be bad. When did it start?"

"Shortly before the stone was stolen, I think."

"Huh. So what's this about, Al?"

Al sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Selena just needs to grow up."

"I keep telling you, I _am_ grown up!" I snapped, kicking the back of his seat. "It's my decision and you have no say in it!"

"No fighting in the car," Ed cut in. "Besides, we're here."

The vehicle pulled up next to the curb behind the car Lieutenant Ross had taken with the chimeras and May. As we got out and entered the store, Al and I glowered at each other until Ed made a point of stepping between us. A bell tinkled when the door opened, and a scruffy-looking blonde man looked up from the register as we crowded inside.

Havoc's face split into a crooked grin. "Hey there. Been a while, hasn't it?"

"Hi, Lieu—er, Mr. Havoc," Al caught himself, returning the smile. I found myself biting my lip uneasily when the man rolled out from behind the counter in a wheelchair. I was pretty sure I hadn't seen him since the hospital, where everything seemed fragile and reeked of disinfectant. Seeing him like this made it feel like he carried the hospital with him.

At least, that's what I thought until Ed walked up and smacked him on the shoulder. "We'll be bumming here long enough to make up for it. Hope you like it rowdy, Lieutenant."

"You think you can just freeload off of me without putting in your fair share? The way I see it, running the store is gonna get a whole lot easier," Havoc responded craftily, rolling his way spiritedly past the shelves of hardware towards the back. "Store hours are from seven to nine, ladies. Be up and at 'em by six."

After leading us into the attached home and giving us a general look around, Havoc told us to grab our luggage and went back to managing the store. Lanfan, May, and I were to share the guest bedroom while the men grappled for space in the living room. I noticed that Lanfan seemed tangibly discomfited with the sleeping arrangements. That was probably because she didn't have direct access to Lin in case of an attack or something, I assumed. I couldn't say I felt terribly bad about that. It wasn't like he couldn't handle himself, and her constant sourness was getting old. I mean, she got to see him all the time. I barely ever got to see Greed and I wasn't sulking like a spoiled brat.

Okay. So maybe I missed seeing Greed more than I initially thought. Now that I thought about it, this wasn't the first time he had snuck his way into my everyday musings. And this feud with Al was all about him too. Wait, did that mean…?

I abruptly dropped the suitcase I had been holding. That wasn't such a bright idea since it burst open and spilled clothing all over the bedroom floor. Lanfan ignored me, but May's head popped out from the top bunk.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Ah…" I stared blankly before recollecting my wits. "No, I'm—I'm okay. Just dropped the…" I trailed off, flushing, and bent down to clean up the mess. May frowned quizzically but went back to her belongings.

Crap. Crap-ola. Crap-a-doodle-doo. I resisted the urge to bang my head against something, or curl up in a corner and disintegrate into a pile of cat litter. Stupid, stupid crush! I thought I had buried the thing so deep it had no chance of digging itself out, and yet here it was, waltzing its way out into the open where I least needed it. God willing, it would get dragged back to hell with its warm fuzzies and humiliating blushing and constant reminders that yes, Greed would probably be even more attractive in his own damn body.

Suddenly, from the heavens, there descended a most blessedly welcome distraction in the form of excited shouts from the living room. I raised a brow and exchanged glances with May and her panda, who wore identical expressions of confusion. Lanfan stopped arranging her sleeping bag on the floor to frown out the doorway. Sighing, I stood up.

"I'll go check on the boys," I said.

When I arrived in the living room, Ed was playing rock-paper-scissors with Jelso for possession of the couch while Al and Zanpano looked on intently.

"Hey!" I called, and Ed glanced up just in time for Jelso to change his paper to rock. It took a few minutes to break up the ensuing argument and another to get Ed to stop accusing me of causing his loss. In the middle of his cursing, I broke in, "Where's Lin?"

The others glanced around blankly. Ed offered, "Did you check the kitchen?" Frowning, I brushed past them and peeked into the kitchen. Empty. I heard Ed mutter something about collapsing on the street as I headed for the back entrance to the store.

Havoc glanced over at me during a conversation with a customer as I passed through the shop and out the front door with a jingle from the bell, but he didn't ask what I was looking for before I left. Scanning the surrounding area, I started to make a lap around the building but stopped short when I realized what I was doing. God damn it. Lin—and Greed—could take care of himself without me tagging along like a stray kitten. I did _not_ need to know where he was twenty four hours a day. I ran a hand over my face irritably and started to head back to the front entrance, only to pause again when I noticed a figure clambering out the back window. Lin froze guiltily when he saw me. As we blinked at each other, I could swear I heard the wind whisper, "Awkwaaard."

Finally, I let out a long groan. "Lin, what the hell are you doing this ti—?" He cut me off with a sharp shush, raising a finger to his lips meaningfully. I raised a brow. "What is it?"

"Just keep quiet." He glanced nervously at the window he had just exited through. "What are you doing back here anyway?"

"Looking for you," I replied reluctantly. "And why are you—? Wait." I took a couple steps towards him, leaning close enough to see his eyes. "Greed?"

"Yeah."

"What are you doing out?"

"I, ah…hijacked this body for a minute."

"For a _minute_," I repeated skeptically, crossing my arms. "And what are you doing that's going to take a minute?"

"Look, just go back in and play it cool, like you didn't see me," he told me. "I'll be back before you know it."

Instead of answering, I sent him a long, flat stare. Greed's shoulders slumped, his eyes turning skyward as if to ask, "Why is she like this?"

"I need to go check on Pride, okay?" he admitted. "I wanna make sure he's not planning on screwing around. You know he's a dangerous little prick."

"Granted, but Ed said he doesn't remember anything."

"He's played the innocent little boy for years. You think he can't do it again?"

I shrugged, a little bewildered by his obvious agitation. "Greed, I don't like him either, but Smiles said—"

"Smiles?"

"The serious soldier guy. Ishbalan."

"Major Miles?"

"Whatever. Major Smiles said the military was watching him to make sure that doesn't happen. And now that Mr. Military is running things, we don't have to worry that things are being controlled from the inside," I reasoned.

Glowering, Greed tucked his hands grumpily into his pockets. "I still don't like it." I watched him quizzically as he started to walk past me.

"Are you worried he's going to go after you?" I asked.

"No," Greed snapped, startling me. "I'm worried that things are going to get messy and he's going to cut you in half again."

I bit my lip. "Nngh. Right. But wouldn't it be more likely to get messy if he saw you?"

"I'll be careful," was the curt response. Frowning, I trotted up to his side and announced, "I'll come too. And Ed. And Al. Makes things safer."

"No."

"Yes."

"Selena—"

"Save your breath, Greed, we both know how this argument is gonna turn out."

"You don't get it, do you?" He stopped abruptly, blocking my path. "You didn't have to watch you die. You didn't see the _blood._ I dragged your body out of the warzone when there was only half of it left. And—God, you were getting so pale…"

I held back a shudder, swallowing thickly. "Sucks watching someone close to you dying, doesn't it?" Greed moistened his lips and didn't answer. "So I'll get Ed and Al, and then we can talk to Mr. Hav to arrange something so we don't have to break in to see Selim, 'kay?"

Greed snorted in spite of himself, massaging his temple with one hand. "Were you always this goddamn stubborn?"

"It's one of my many personal quirks," I smiled sweetly.

He shook his head. "Still not happening."

"Okay," I shrugged, and started walking purposefully towards the front of the store. I fully expected him to make a grab to stop me, but I was guessing he would go for my arm, not put me in a freaking chokehold. Swearing loudly, I gripped his arm and kicked fiercely at his legs, only for him to knock my feet out from under me. He caught my weight with an arm around my midsection and eased the chokehold down to trap my forearms. Game, set, match.

"God damn it," I grunted, doing my best to wriggle away. "If I'd gotten my damn gloves in time…"

"You're pretty dependent on those things." Greed's amusement was evident in his voice, and the feel of his breath on my ear made me redden. _Oh, hell… _In a panic, I did the first thing I could think of and screamed.

Mistake number one: I will never live down screaming for help in the middle of grappling with Greed. Mistake number two: I called for the person I was supposed to be mad at—Alphonse Elric. Mistake number three: after clamping his hand over my mouth, Greed deemed it necessary to knock me out.

Freaking Lin and his expertise on pressure points.

**0**

**Hopefully the length and quality makes up for the wait (probably not). I reworked and solidified my planned plotline so that this shouldn't happen again. To those of you who reviewed, I will probably respond to you right after I post this chapter. Thank you so much for your patience and support despite my negligence.**

**A couple extra little notes, but the way… **

**One of my readers by the name of Souls Guardian has offered to write an independent story about Selim/Pride, and she wants to borrow my OC Selena for it. I've confirmed that she may be used, as the premise of the story described in the PM has a lot of promise. I'm sure Souls Guardian would appreciate feedback as much as anyone. Just remember to be as polite and supportive as you've always been for me. ^^**

**Second note: I've been doodling some Greed/Selena pictures in my planner and was wondering if you guys were interested in seeing them. I'm not so sure about posting them on my DeviantArt account since that is essentially my professional portfolio and potential employers in my field tend to look down on fanfiction, unfortunately. However, if you guys want them I might put them in my scraps section or on another website if someone suggests a good alternative. Let me know what you think!**

**Love you guys so much! Thanks for the favorites, follows, and reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I actually storyboarded out most of this chapter before I wrote it... The writing went a lot faster. I might keep doing that just to speed things up.**

I spent an awful lot of time on the roof of the Devil's Nest, but probably not as much as I'd like to think I did. Most of the time I was bothering Greed, or sparring with Dorchet, or getting lectured by Martel, after which I would go back to doing the same old things. Still, the roof was a nice little spot. The quiet, the sky, the warmth of the sun, the clear breeze…

My nose twitched, and I stared blankly up at the clouds. It smelled like tobacco. The bar had some smokers, but it didn't normally stink out here. As I slowly became aware that I couldn't be on the roof of the Devil's Nest, I let out a quiet groan. That's right, I had been arguing with Greed, and the bastard knocked me out. Jerk. So where was I now?

Groaning again, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and noted that I was indeed on a roof. That explained the half-asleep daydreams about the Devil's Nest, but this appeared to be in the middle of a high-class neighborhood—nothing like the shady area the bar was in. So why did it smell like smoke?

I grunted irritably, rubbing my temple. "Stupid Greed…"

"Not my fault you were being difficult."

I jerked around fast enough to strain my neck. Sitting on the opposite edge of the roof with his back to me was Greed, his legs dangling as he lifted something to his mouth and took a drag.

"What the hell?" I crawled over to him until I could see the cigarette in his hand. "What's your problem? You're gonna give Lin cancer!"

Greed's brow twitched. "Don't yell in my ear. I'm stressed but I can't drink since the brat's underage."

"So since you can't kill his liver, you're gonna mess with his lungs instead? You're such an asshole!" I responded at an even higher volume. He grimaced, turned to me, and blew a lungful of smoke in my face. I screeched, choking ferociously and rubbing my burning eyes. "Son of a _bitch_!"

"Keep it down, this is a classy neighborhood." He sucked in another breath, obviously unconcerned that I would now die a slow and painful death from second-hand smoke.

"That burns!" I coughed loudly, clutching my throat. "Crap, my eyes!"

"Aw, quit exaggerating."

I shot him a glare which he didn't even see, and as he lifted his cancer stick again I deftly smacked it out of his hand. It bounced once and rolled off the roof.

"You—" Greed blinked incredulously in the direction it had fallen. "You little brat!" That would have been my cue to start laughing if his hand hadn't shot out and basically grabbed my head. "That was a good quality cig!"

"Leggo my face—!" I shot back, not expecting the scuffle, but after some flailing I was shoved down with a dull thud. My hat flopped off my head and landed just out of my sight. Flattening my ears, I made a grab for the hand holding me down by the shoulder.

"Jeez, why are you such a pain?" Greed's tobacco-saturated breath rustled my hair, and I abruptly realized just how close he was. _Oh, no. Not now, hormones. Now is the worst possible time for this._ For what felt like a long minute but was probably only a couple seconds, I gaped blankly at Greed's face, my cheeks reddening rapidly and my mind racing in a panic. It was in the split second before I took action that Greed's brows started to slide from an exasperated expression into an inquisitive one, but I didn't pause long enough to decide whether that was because of my pinking complexion or my bulging eyes.

I kneed him between the legs as hard as I could.

The sound he made was somewhere between a bellowing lion and the howl of a dying dog, and it dwindled into a long series of curses and groans as he rolled off me, clutching his maimed manhood. Struggling with my previous embarrassment and my current twinge of guilt, I hesitantly sat up.

"You, uh…You deserved that," I informed him lamely.

Facedown, his voice wafted up to me, muffled and strained. "What the hell did I do?"

My eyes darted guiltily across the street as I grappled for a suitable response. I was starting to think maybe he hadn't warranted such extreme action when his barely-distinguishable swearing converted to decrepit whimpers.

"Selenaaaaa…" I glanced down to find a much less "Greed-y" face pouting up at me. "That huuuurt…"

"Oh." My tense shoulders slumped sheepishly. "Hi, Lin."

"It's my body, remember?" he groaned, gingerly sitting up.

I shrugged. "Then tell Greed not to be an ass. He probably gave us both lung cancer."

"He's just worried because Pride is still out there," Lin sighed. "He's concerned about_ you_."

"So why was he sitting here smoking instead of doing something about it?" I asked before guilt or hormones to go to work on Lin's statement.

"He was planning his break-in from here." Lin pointed out across the street, and I followed his gesture to the large, clean house sitting there. So that was the new Bradley home. I guess staying in the old president's mansion wasn't such a good idea now that it was known that Bradley had been the bad guy. This house probably didn't stand up to the mansion, but it looked like a nice place. It reminded me of something out of a painting—white-washed walls with a blue roof, quaint little windows, and a blue door. A door that was just now opening.

"Get down!" Lin hissed. He could have said it _before_ he shoved me down out of sight, but maybe it's a Xingese thing. It's an Amestrian thing to swear loudly when someone does that, so I did. When we peeked over the edge of the roof, the woman coming out of the house was glancing around in confusion as she led a little boy down the front steps, and I almost swore again when I got a better look at the kid.

Pride—or, I guess I should say, Selim Bradley—appeared to be a year or two younger than he had the last time I saw him. That could have had to do with his physical makeup or the way his hair was cut, but it could also have been because of the big goofy smile that lit up his face. No matter how much I stared, I couldn't seem to wrap my head around how well it suited him. He was supposed to be a monster, and yet here he was, chattering about grasshoppers or something. He looked so happy.

I did my best not to frown. Despite the way my mind was telling me Greed was right to worry, I was a little consternated about spying on an adorable little boy out of paranoia. Horrendous crimes or not, he didn't even remember his past, might not even have the maturity to process the things he'd done. I wasn't about to hold a little kid accountable for something he couldn't even understand.

A strained noise made me look over at Lin, who was clutching his head and muttering to himself. I could see a vein pulsing in his temple.

"Crap," I breathed. "Uh…Okay, Lin, just hang in there—"

"Greed wants out," he grunted.

"I know, just hold on…" I glanced down at Selim and his mother nervously, and when I looked back at Lin, I discovered the idiot pushing himself to his feet. "What the—don't stand up!"

Lin would later tell me that he was about to put some distance between himself and Selim—probably not a bad idea—but since I was more worried about him being spotted, I grabbed him by the arm with the intention of pulling him back down. I did not notice the wobble in his steps until after my little tug sent him reeling off balance and, ultimately, off the roof.

I think the bodily _thud_ scared Mrs. Bradley more than it did Selim.

"_Damn it, Lin!_" I screeched loudly. (I didn't think to worry for his safety after a two-story fall until he started to push himself up.) My yell was followed by immediate regret as I became painfully aware of two pairs of wide eyes blinking at me from across the street. Clearing my throat awkwardly, I glanced down at Lin and then back at them. The first thing I thought to say was, "Can I have my friend back?"

They continued to gawk at me, and for the first time I realized I didn't have my hat on. That may or may not have been why they were staring, since I was across a street and on top of a roof that an illegal foreigner had just fallen from, but I didn't find out before said illegal foreigner groaned and stood up.

"Selena!" Lin whined, rubbing shoulder. "That could have killed m—"

He was cut off by a shriek. Startled, we both looked over at Mrs. Bradley, who was clutching a confused Selim to her and backing rapidly away from Lin.

I arched a brow. "What the hell…?"

"Oh." Lin slumped. "Greed may have attacked Bradley in front of her."

I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose in aggravation as the shrieking continued. "God damn it, Greed…" Grabbing my hat, I made my way to the drain pipe and shimmied down.

By the time I got to the bottom, Mrs. Bradley was swatting at Lin like a cornered animal as he tried to straighten things out. Sighing, I jogged over.

"—not the guy who attacked you," Lin was insisting when I got there. "I wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, he's too dumb to break into the president's mansion," I added. Lin shot me a frown.

"Selena…"

"Hey, I'm helping!"

"No you're not! You're just insulting me!"

"Well, Lanfan's not here so I figured I'd take advantage of it…"

"You're so mean!"

As Mrs. Bradley watched us squabble, looking utterly lost, I heard a small voice amid the ruckus.

"Greed?"

All eyes turned to the little boy with the black hair. His face had a look of inquisitiveness and familiarity, his brows furrowed and his bright eyes trained on Lin.

I fidgeted, involuntarily inching behind Lin. "Didn't Ed say he didn't remember anything?"

Lin glanced at me, his mouth open to reply but his shoulders already shrugging. As I eyed Selim, primed to run for it, his mother bent down and wrapped her arms around him, and he nestled comfortably into her embrace. I blinked, startled by the innocence of the gesture, and turned my focus to Mrs. Bradley. Her eyes felt familiar. They reminded me of Ms. Izumi's.

"Please don't tell anyone," she said quietly.

If there hadn't been a little boy present, I probably would have said "Holy shit." Since there was, my jaw stayed slack as I glanced at Lin for help. He rubbed at his neck and let out a long breath of air.

"I, ah…" He glanced around and moistened his lips. "Should we discuss this inside?"

Mrs. Bradley nodded, straightening up. Selim clung to her hand as she opened the door, his large eyes going from Lin to me as we entered tentatively. I couldn't see an ounce of homunculus in those eyes—just a small child. Somehow, that made me even more nervous than I would have been if he had outright attacked us.

Lin glanced at me when I unconsciously curled a hand around a corner of his shirt. For a moment I was afraid that might be awkward for him based on the way he looked away and started to loosen my fingers, but when he had my hand in his he didn't let go. I blinked and looked up at him, and he mumbled, "This is what Greed would do, right?"

Biting my lip, I nodded. "Uh-huh."

Okay. Maybe it was awkward after all. But strangely, I felt a lot safer surrounded by a cloud of awkwardness. Was that a Xingese thing? Maybe it was a Lin thing.

But it wasn't a Greed thing.

If it was, I would have turned red and punched him.

**Thank you for reading! As I mentioned in the previous chapter, I have doodles from this story in my sketchbook, including the storyboards for this chapter, and I've posted them on Tumblr under the blog .com. Take a look if you're interested! :)**


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